Chely Wright ~ C'est La Vie (You Never Can Tell)
Thunder ~ Fired Up Live Monsters of Rock
Seal ~ I've Been Loving Too Long
Alanis Morrisette ~ All I Really Want
Beth Hart ~ Crashing Down
James Morrison ~ Wonderful World
Maroon 5 ~ Goodnight Goodnight
Patti Smith ~ Ain't It Strange
Bob Marley ~ Roots, Rock, Reggae
Shelby Lynne ~ Gotta Get Back
Halestorm ~ In Your Room
Fleetwood Mac ~ GypsyBuck
Buckcherry ~ I Want You
Maroon 5 ~ Kiwi
Blimey what a weekend of highs and lows. I hope yours was more peaceful...my poor sister's house was flooded on Thursday night and sadly they lost everything in the downstairs rooms. So it's been rough for her and her family...and rough for us to watch...feeling powerless to help her. My part in helping her, was providing her with comforting foods and safe haven on our usual Saturday family day...and hugs...virtual...physical and every hug possible...and often. My lovely friends rallied with offers of help to clear the mud and water from the house and with the lend of Dehumidifiers and the gifts of rugs and carpets to lay down temporarily until its all dried out. It's been rough...but I think my sister has been humbled by the offers of help from family and friends. She's far from being out of trouble but shes at least at the start and she is a true fighter...
The highs came in the time spent with good friends on Friday...an impromptu coming together to eat food I'd cooked and thankfully they enjoyed it and the time spent together was lovely. Saturday was the ability to care for my sister and her little ones...just spending time and comforting them...and for ML time spent building Lego..lol. Then yesterday was Dev's birthday celebrations...and we joined her and the rest of the gang for an evening of fine dining at a new restaurant that had recently opened. Dev looked resplendent in her new dress and didn't look anywhere near her actual age...I will not say so don't ask! The restaurant was beautifully decorated and you felt you were sitting in pure luxury. And they tried to cater for Dev and I...I would be a liar if I said that I left with an empty stomach but for me it wasn't about the food...it was about the experience and opportunity to do something different. It was Dev's birthday wish and I was happy to join in...as we all were. It was fantastic evening and a touching speech by Bev rounded it off nicely. So thank you guys...
Today's recipe comes from Donna Klein's A Chinese Vegan Kitchen cookbook. Since taking it on holiday to Cornwall last month I have been obsessed with it. I was craving a really comforting bowl of noodles. I wanted good flavours and textures and in this dish I found both. I adapted it slightly because of the ingredients I had in and also I used chilli paste instead of chilli oil as I want to reduce my oil consumption again. I also used GF buckwheat noodles. The results were most definitely comfort food with a healthy kick of heat from the ginger and chilli paste.
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| Mixed Vegetable Lo Mein |
Mixed Vegetable Lo Mein Serves 4
(Recipe from A Chinese Vegan Kitchen/Klein)
1 tbsp peanut oil (I used canola oil)
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
3 large cloves garlic, grated
4 oz fresh shiitake, cremini, or white mushrooms, thinly sliced (I used Closed Cup)
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 cups coarsely shredded bok choy (I used Chinese Leave/Napa)
4 oz snow peas/mangetout, trimmed
1/2 cup of low sodium veggie stock
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp plain rice vinegar
1 - 2 tsp Chinese Hot Oil (I used 1 tsp chilli paste)
1 tbsp dark toasted sesame oil
8 oz lo mein noodles or other thin chinese noodles, cooked to al dente, drained
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (I didn't feel the need for this addition)
1/4 cup of peanuts or cashews, toasted (optional)
In a wok or large skillet heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, and bok choy, cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add snow peas, stock, soy sauce and vinegar and hot oil and cook, stirring often until vegetables are crisp tender, approx 4 minutes. Add sesame oil and stir quickly to combine. Add noodles, cook, stirring constantly until heated through. Remove from the heat and add the dark soy sauce, tossing well to thoroughly coat all the noodles (they will darken) Serve at once, sprinkled with the nuts, if using.
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Monday has been good to you....
~Red~
NB: As always many thanks to Donna Klein for being an inspiration and creating amazing recipes....Respect.
